CMLL Lucha Libre
Dave Fields
Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, D.F.
No popularity rankings this week.
First Match: El Espectro, Jr., Hijo del Gladiador, and Hombre Bala
(heels) vs. Huracan Sevilla, Mogur, and Apolo Dantes (faces); Pancho
Ramirez and Pepe Crejo (?) (referees); faces win 2/3 falls.
First Fall: Espectro and Apolo engage in some standing holds and mat
work, then trade takedowns. Mogur and Hombre Bala trade takedowns, then
Mogur throws Bala several times. Gladiador and Huracan engage in some
fast mat work, Gladiador getting Huracan into a half crab, but Sevilla
escapes and they engage in more mat work.
Dantes throws El Espectro out of the ring, and Espectro runs up the
aisle to avoid a plancha attempt. Mogur misses a drop kick on Bala, but
then throws and drop kicks him several times. When Apolo throws him out
of the ring, Hombre Bala also runs up the aisle to avoid being
planchaed. Huracan executes several quick throws on Hijo del Gladiador,
then misses a drop kick attempt on Hombre Bala. He quickly recovers and
gets Bala to submit to one of those strange lucha libre pretzel holds
while Gladiador submits to Mogur's rolling cradle.
Second Fall: Mogur throws Espectro twice, then is tackled. Espectro
punches and kicks Mogur, but then is taken down and thrown out of the
ring. Again, he runs up the aisle to avoid any potential plancha dives.
Gladiador kicks Huracan Sevilla's knee, then throws him hard on his
back twice followed by a kick to the head from Espectro. All 3 rudos
gang up on Dantes. Mogur tries to take on both Espectro and Gladiador,
but they pretty much mop up the arena with him, with Gladiador doing a
270-degree power bomb on Mogur and pinning him.
Third Fall: Gladiador throws Mogur to the mat hard several times, then
he and Espectro both team him up on the arena floor. Gladiador smashes
Huracan several times, then Espectro kicks him hard in the face.
Gladiador and Espectro beat up Apolo, but Dantes comes back suddenly
and takes on all 3 rudos with kicks and slams. Gladiador is thrown 5
successive times by Mogur, who then throws him out of the ring. Huracan
throws Espectro out of the ring, then hits him hard with
a suicide plancha as Mogur pins Hombre Bala.
Second Match: Sultan Gargola, Comando Ruso, and El Gran Sheik (heels)
vs. Mano Negra, Blue Demon, Jr., and Hijo del Solitario (faces);
Roberto Rangel and Pancho Ramirez (referees); faces win 2/3 falls.
Blue Demon throws Sheik, then is taken down and both engage in
protracted mat work. Demon next takes Comando Ruso down and goes for
the pin but is thrown off. Hijo del Solitario throws Ruso into the
first row ringside spectators. Back in the ring, Ruso takes Solitario
down, but gets a hip toss in return. Sheik chops Mano Negra twice, then
gets a harder one in return. The Black Hand then kicks Sheik out of the
ring. Blue Demon throws Gargola around several times with
spectacular tosses from the ropes. Ruso manhandles Solitario briefly,
but then is catapulted and superkicked. Ruso and Mano Negra trade
chops, but Ruso is then tilt-a-whirl suplexed by Blue Demon. Mano Negra
executes a flying head butt from the second rope and pins Gargola.
Second Fall: Gargola manhandles Mano Negra, then gets clotheslined.
Sheik and Blue Demon do some quick ring ropes razzle dazzle culminating
with a double clothesline. Demon tosses Sheik several times. Ruso
delivers a high back body drop to Solitario, then all 3 rudos enter to
trash the tecnicos. Mano Negra submits to Sheik's half crab.
Third Fall: Sheik steps all over Demon's head. Gargola clubs Blue
Demon, then joins Sheik for a double clothesline on the blue one.
Solitario is thrown into the second row ringside seats. Mano Negra leg
drops Sheik and the tecnicos come to life.Blue Demon tears up Gargola
on the arena floor while Solitario does the same to Ruso, who is tossed
into the second row of spectators. Sheik and Mano Negra trade punches,
but then Mano puts the evil middle easterner in a head scissors and
rolls him over in a pin attempt, only to be foiled by Gargola.
All 3 rudos enter at this point, but Blue Demon front flip planchas
Gargola from the top turnbuckle and pins him while Solitario launches a
suicide plancha into Comando Ruso on the floor.
Third Match: Volador, Misterioso, and Anibal (faces) vs. Nitron,
Pierroth, Jr., and Fuerza Guerrera (heels); Roberto Rangel and Gato
Montini (referees); faces win 2 straight falls.
This was Anibal's first match without a mask. He wore a yellow headband
throughout the match, and never came close to losing it. Glue?
Throughout the match, the announcers referred to Nitron as El
Chapparito, which means the little oak tree. At 7', he really dwarfs
the Mexican wrestlers.
First Fall: Pierroth slaps Misterioso, throws him down twice, and
unsuccessfully goes for the pin. He continues working on Misterioso's
left arm, then throws him again. Misterioso comes back to throw
Pierroth and then puts him in an arm bar. Fuerza runs in to kick him
off, then throw him out of the ring. Fuerza follows the welterweight
champ out to the floor where he continues to thrash him. Back in the
ring, Fuerza and Nitron beat the crap out of Misterioso. When Anibal
runs in for the save attempt, he also gets trashed.
Fuerza posts Misterioso on the outside while all this is going on in
the ring. Nitron stomps Volador. Pierroth and Nitron hold Volador as
Fuerza kicks him. Anibal comes back, thrashing Pierroth and Fuerza.
Misterioso tilt-a-whirls Fuerza, but takes a kick to the face in
return. Nitron works Misterioso over in the rudo corner. Anibal is held
by Pierroth, but when Nitron attempts to slug him, he breaks away and
the giant American slugs Pierroth instead. The faces come back
momentarily, but soon are again taking a beating.
Anibal slams Nitron face first into the mat. Volador does several fancy
rope throws and a catapult on Pierroth, then pulls him out of the ring
backwards high over the top rope from behind. Misterioso tilt-a-whirls
Fuerza. Nitron punches Anibal, but is thrown and punched himself in
return. Anibal puts Nitron into an abdominal stretch, but is kicked off
by Pierroth. Nitron accidentally trashes Pierroth, but makes up for it
by crushing Misterioso. Volador jumps on Nitron's back, then he and
Misterioso double slam and pin the big norteamericano.
Nitron and Pierroth squabble on the outside of the ring.
Second Fall: Fuerza and Misterioso trade punches. Misterioso whips
Fuerza into the corner turnbuckle. Nitron enters and trashes Misterioso
with several elbow drops. Volador enters to yank Nitron's walrus
mustache several times, but mostly just angers the big man and takes a
clothesline for his efforts. Volador misses a drop kick aimed at
Nitron, then tries a throw from the top rope, but Nitron just grabs and
launches the much smaller masked man across the ring. Volador
recovers quickly and nails the Oklahoman with several drop kicks.
Anibal and Pierroth trade chops and punches and Pierroth posts
himself.
Fuerza kicks and throws Misterioso, then goes for a submission but is
knocked off by Anibal. All 3 rudos jump Misterioso and there is
momentary chaos. Nitron and Pierroth collide and then are thrown into
one another. Volador and Anibal gang up on Nitron and put him into a
modified surf board, to which he submits. Fuerza slugs Misterioso in
the balls, but the referees don't see it.
Fourth Match: Brazo, Brazo de Oro, and Brazo de Plata (heels) vs.
Atlantis, Dandy, and Conan (faces); Roberto Rangel and Gato Montini
(referees); faces win 2/3 falls.
Very interesting dynamics for this match. Los Brazos, who are pushed as
heels, are one of the most, if not the most, popular tag teams in CMLL.
In this match, the faces were booed throughout and the heels cheered.
Conan, in particular, came in for a lot of catcalls from the fans. This
was Dandy's first TV appearance since having his head shaved in a hair
vs. hair match. Given that he
had a lot of hair, he looks markedly different.
First Fall: Atlantis takes Brazo down and works on his left leg. Brazo
twists his arm, but Atlantis escapes, then snap mares and chin locks
Brazo. The two trade takedowns and engage in lots of close mat work
(not resting, by the way) for several minutes before tagging out. Oro
and Dandy do much the same and trade two quick pin attempts. Dandy gets
Oro into a half crab, but the wily rudo escapes. Conan does a very
fancy takedown of Porky as the crowd whistles loudly at a gorgeous babe
in a short, tight, sequined dress who comes into the arena and sits
down. Brazo throws Atlantis out of the ring. Atlantis misses a drop
kick, but throws Brazo.
Oro and Dandy trade good escapes from holds. Porky and Conan do some
really well executed acrobatic moves, smile widely, shake hands, and
exit. Dandy kicks Brazo to the mat. Atlantis misses a front flip
plancha attempt, but recovers midway through and forward rolls out of
it as he hits the canvas. The world's middleweight champ then pins
Porky when the Silver Armed rudo misses a drop kick. The crowd boos
loudly.
Second Fall: Conan slams Brazo face first into the mat. Atlantis wrings
Oro's arm and then throws him. The two engage in many well executed
moves and then leave. Porky tackles Dandy out of the ring, threatens a
plancha, then does a Tarzan routine, beating on his chest. Dandy
submits to Oro, Porky pins Conan, and Brazo gets Atlantis to submit.
Third Fall: Conan enters to face Oro and is booed loudly by the crowd.
Dandy and Brazo trade several nice moves. Porky tackles Atlantis out of
the ring. Atlantis comes back and throws the big heel twice, then
misses a drop kick. Conan comes in, executes a fast spinning side kick
on Porky (knocking him out of the ring), and then planchas him from the
ring apron. The crowd boos loudly. Atlantis gets a *very* quick
submission from Oro with a backbreaker.
All the wrestlers shake hands and exchange pleasantries at the end of
the match.
Dave Fields | tdat!d...@suntzu.sun.com
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